Cygnus Rock Band - Death And Glory (album review)
Death And Glory is the 4th Viking studio album by Cygnus Rock Band. It was released on 31st December, 2022.
I remember my first impression when I listened to this album for the first time was how much Cygnus matured during that year - both as musicians and as human beings - after releasing their previous album "Ancient Visions" in 2021. The sound was much more complex compared to AV, there was a tangible richness in every song and the general atmosphere of the album was deeper, more complete and prepared than any of their previous works. For me it was clear that it needs more than one listening to just catch a glimpse of this musical lavishness these Colombian rockers offered to the fans. And it was just for the "first glimpse", seeing the real depth of the album needed much more time.
This is one of the many things why I'm so fond of this band. They never go for cheap or easy solutions. They refuse to do any sloppy work. I myself am a witness together with other fans how much work, energy and devotion they invest into every single note or beat, how much consideration and planning there is behind a melody or a lyrics line. The results speak for themselves, their music is complex and wonderfully arranged; it's definitely not for those who listen to music just as a background noise.
The album opens with the overture; it's been conventional for Cygnus Rock Band to have an actual opening on their albums. Daudi ok dyrd follows the tradition of classical music overtures, not just in its structure, but with the fact that it's a real symphonic track. The orchestration hails the talent and creativity of Deneb; this time there's something new in the overture compared to earlier albums, namely that it contains choruses now instead of being entirely instrumental. It's followed by Lady Hél, which is one of the cornerstone songs of the album for me. It's a more than 6-minute-long glorifying prayer to the Norse goddess of the underworld, while musically it's something extraordinary. It's that kind of song which I myself barely - if ever - have heard from any other band. It's enormous, very complex, with a special structure, yet a real earworm and right the first time you will catch yourself singing the pre-chorus along with Deneb, "mist of darkness, palace of shadows/black sun and fear, I've seen your kingdom and it's real". Additionally with this song Deneb and Ruxx tried out something new as well, because Lady Hél is one of the heaviest songs ever written by Cygnus; breaking the habits of melodic folk metal this song crosses the borders of thrash and even death metal - yet in the meantime it does keep the folk and symphonic elements which blend in with the harsh, distorted sounds very harmoniously.
The One-eyed Wanderer will be a fan-favorite, hands down. After the roughness of Lady Hél it opens with a wonderful, melodic folk theme and it follows through the entire song. You won't be able to resist it long, it warms your heart, makes your blood run faster and generally you will feel happy and full of life. You turn up the volume and sing along. This song is that kind which makes the audience jump and sing on concerts, while the lyrics turn into quotes fans can cite to themselves. I think this kind of song is typically called "epic".
The Tavern of the Dwarves is an acoustic jam and another possible fan-favorite. The lyrics clearly show the impact of J. R. R. Tolkien's world while the music is pure folk. But what makes this song really special is the atmosphere. Clinking of glasses, the mouth-watering sound of beer floating into the mug from the barrel, to name a few. (I won't tell it all, you go, listen and admire.) Yet what I would like to highlight is the different Tolkienic and other languages appearing in the song. Right in the beginning you will hear something from Deneb in ancient Norse, while during the second stanza you can hear Ruxx in the background playing the unlucky dwarf. There's also something at the end of the song, but I won't cite it here, because I try not to anger certain... creatures :)
(hereby I confess, I'd give anything for some behind-the-scenes insights on how this song was recorded)
It Rained Blood turns the listener back into the brutal rawness that appeared in Lady Hél as well. This song is pure thrash metal, that kind of "technical thrash" (in fact I'm not sure if it's really called this way in English, in my mother tongue this sub-genre was labeled like that - generally it referred to thrash metal bands where the band members actually knew how to play their instruments instead of just making noise) that was popular in the 90's like Exodus, Testament, Overkill or the one and only Slayer. As you already found out, it's another song of the album that is ground-breaking, because through these two songs, It Rained Blood and Lady Hél Cygnus Rock Band is reaching out to new territories, and I have to say, it really, really suits them. Ruxx pushes himself to the limits by playing the complex drum themes and singing/spitting/screaming the gore and horrors of a Viking battle, while Deneb doesn't fall behind for a single moment with the gruntling bass and the guttural, evil vocals. (Yes, it's him!) So, this track hits hard and in my mind's eye I already see the fans doing a mosh pit on Cygnus gigs for this song.
The rest of the song is pure folk, beautiful, soul-uplifting, joyous and very rich. Interesting that it contains 4 solos - 3 on guitar, 1 on keyboards - which are played by guest musicians, they are all the band's friends. Each solo is an essence of the talent of these wonderful people.
After this we arrive at the lyrical part of the album. What Have We Done is again a ground-breaking song with the theme choice. It's a cry for the planet, a painful, bitter and sad call for the entire humankind to account on the destruction we all do to the environment on a daily basis. This theme is new for Cygnus Rock Band and I seriously hope this wasn't the last time they wrote songs about topics that are more current, more contemporary (while of course I love ALL their ancient-themed songs to pieces!). What makes this song very special is the beautiful prayer the song ends with.
It's only my very own, very personal opinion and please, feel free to contradict me or come up with your own point of view, again I want to underline that I'll be glad to hear about it. This song slightly reminds me of Michael Jackson's Earth Song (the band actually did a cover for it soon before they started to work on Death And Glory) and before anyone would take me wrong, it is NOT a copy of MJ's song, but the impact of it, at least for me is indisputable.
The Proof of Valhalla is the other cornerstone of the album. It's a more than 8-minute-long, absolutely epic, rich, beautifully composed ballad, both lyrically and musically. Starting with deep, sensual sounds of a row of string instruments along with different percussions that are playing hide-and-seek with the listener, sometimes hiding cautiously in the background, sometimes bursting out to the surface (all hail to Ruxx!), then entering the electric instruments, finally topped by Deneb's mellow baritone the song slowly sweeps away the listener, first gently circulating around your ankles to slowly rise up and finally cover and coat you with its depth, beauty, richness and the myriad of sounds. The lyrics are shamelessly erotic, but they avoid even the slightest shadow of vulgarity; they are poetic, intense and vibrant, yes, that kind which makes even the hardest rock melt. And as you're listening to this track, you catch yourself begging for more. And more. And even more. This song, dear Reader, is deeply and assertively addictive, you won't be able to get enough of it and finally you will see yourself slowly starving when you can't listen to it for some reason. This song is by no question one of the masterpieces of Cygnus Rock Band.
The seriousness of the past two songs quickly gets loosened up by the metal version of The Tavern of the Dwarves. The song is practically the same like track no. 4 but instead of acoustic/folk instruments it's full of distorted guitars. Yes, that kind which can turn into a fan-favorite on gigs, making the audience dance around the hall screaming their hearts out while singing "join us at the tavern of the dwarves after a hard day's work". That kind of song which washes the exhaustedness, stress and anxiety out of you on a nasty day - just remember to turn up the volume!
Great Bard closes the album. It's a very personal song by the band, I'm not sure if they have ever made a song this personal. It's a tribute to their late friend and poet Cole Vidrine, who took part in many of their songs as a lyricist, even appearing with his voice or presence in some of them. Cole passed away in late 2021 and this song is Cygnus's farewell to him. It's a quiet, acoustic song, as simple as it is, it's as deep and emotional.
This is just my personal point of view now, it's not an official statement at all, and feel free to disagree with me, I will be more than happy to hear other people's opinions. For me this album can be divided into two parts, the "glory" part (the first 5-6 songs) and the "death" part (the rest of the songs), a bit like the "A" and "B" side of an old-fashioned record or cassette. The "glory side" of the album consists of glorifying the gods, the heroism, honor and bravery of the warriors, and these songs all push the listener into a delighted, joyous or hopeful mood. Meanwhile on the "death side" (obviously) there are gloomier, slower songs, ballads, some of them are really melancholic, while others talk about death as a metaphor (like "The Proof of Valhalla"). Interesting, but it's merely my very own thinking and I might be wrong, on both "sides" there's an odd one out. On the glory side for me it's "It Rained Blood", because aside from the war cry it does contain the pain and blood of a battle. While on the death side the metal version of "The Tavern of the Dwarves" lights up the atmosphere after two huge, deep, ground-shaking ballads.
I don't know why, but the yin-yang symbol came to my mind about this - but it's just my own overthinking.
Death And Glory on Spotify:
Death And Glory on YouTube (as a playlist):
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